A federal judge sentenced Nicholas Dombek to 10 years in prison Tuesday, the longest term of any member of a large-scale art and memorabilia theft ring that looted museums and other venues for two decades in six states.
Dombek’s sentencing was the last of seven members of the Lackawanna County-based ring who either pleaded guilty or were convicted last February by a jury. Another was found not guilty and one died. Federal authorities charged nine with crimes in June 2023.
Dombek, 55, who lived in Thornhurst Twp., sat quietly as Senior U.S. District Judge Malachy E. Mannion sent him to prison and ordered him to pay $2,753,266.31 in restitution and an $800 special assessment. Mannion also said Dombek has to submit to federal supervision for three years after his release.
The sentence was still below the 14 years to 17½ years that Dombek faced under federal sentencing guidelines. A federal prosecutor sought 16 years.
Mannion said Dombek melted down stolen sports-related rings, belts and trophies without giving a thought to their value to museums, their patrons or sports fans. The judge dismissed defense attorney Gino Bartolai's argument that Dombek hung around with the wrong crowd.
"I don't buy for a second that you're a victim of circumstance," Mannion said.
The stolen loot included New York Yankee Hall of Fame baseball player Yogi Berra’s World Series and other championship rings, stolen from the New Jersey museum that honors him; a trophy and athlete-of-the-year belt belonging to famed Yankee outfielder Roger Maris, stolen from the Fargo, North Dakota museum that honors him; and a purported Jackson Pollock painting and an Andy Warhol painting, stolen from the Everhart Museum in Scranton in 2005.
Both paintings remain missing.
“There’s stuff out there that we still don’t know where it is,” Mannion said. “Where is that Pollock? ... Is it in somebody’s garage?”
Mannion said Dombek should get three to six months credit for time served in a related 2019 intimidation of witnesses case filed by local authorities. Assistant U.S. Attorney James Buchanan said Dombek will get credit for time spent in prison since January 2024, about 25 months. After federal authorities filed indictments or criminal informations against ring members in June 2023, Dombek refused to turn himself in and disappeared until he decided to surrender on New Year's Day 2024.
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